Censorship in games.

[BallPtPenTheif]

Even if we discovered that books, films, and media in general creates serial killers is that really a reason to censor these things? The FBI estimates that at any given time there are at least 10 active serial killers in the United States. Looser estimates are around 50. Given the population of the country (about 306 Million), that's a pretty good track record.

Specifically in regards to videogames, as long as we didn't see a spike in the ratio of active serial killers after the 90's then it is as culpable as any other medium.

The free expression of thought is a huge thing to give up for just 0.000016% of the population. So creating laws in the attempt to supress the creation of serial killers is a rediculous notion in of itself.

 

[Ingatius]

At some point we as a society are going to have to accept that video games do have an effect on children. I do beleive that inattentive parents have the majority of the blame, but nevertheless if you plop a child infront of a violent game and don't regulate them at all it will affect them. It's like being brought up in a hostile environment.

Some may say that movies are more violent,although this may be true to a point you have to consider the unique nature of video games. In a movie your watching somebody commit a nonsensical violent act, in a video game ( more than often ) your the one committing the violent act.

In short do I think video games are the root of all evil? No, but I do beleive that they do have an effect on children.

 

[Jamash]

I think that it is not really needed. I mean it's just a game. Anyone that says video games make serial killers. Really need's to get there heads examined. If you have violent tendencies before you play an M rated game. Chances are your going to be like that anyway. Violent video games do not show you how. To be a violent killer. It's lame how they get blamed for things like that anymore. People need to be responsible for themselves.

Why do you talk like that? Are you William Shatner?

Anyway, I think censorship is necessary in games.

Beside the adage, "Rules are meant to be broken", meaning that boundaries can stimulate creativity and imagination in game making, I think without boundaries there would be lots of really terrible, gratuitous games released, like video game equivalents of snuff movies or the stereotypical plumber/repairman storyline in porn films, which wouldn't be goo for the industry at all.

Also games are a very powerful media, due to their interactive & entertaining nature, and due to the fact they're still viewed as 'toys' in a way and naively supplied to children.

Think of the controversy surrounding America's Army, a game which is used as a recruitment tool by the US Army, and this is with censorship.

Games could be used as platforms to promote political, religious or immoral points of view & could be used as recruitment tool to entrap naive gamers and disillusioned youth.

Just look at some of the vile, homophobic, racist and just plain bad, ROM hacks [http://www.badhacks.net/] here and ask yourself, do you really want to see this kind of shit becoming mainstream?

It's all academic anyway, because even without censorship, there's no way that Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo would let any games which are even just a bit 'worse' than the current ESRB boundaries be released on their consoles.

 

[DethFan666]

Why is it necessary? Do you feel violent afetr you play them? Do you wan't it censored so when you see death animations. You don't feel like hurting yourself or others as much? And if you take video games seriously. You need to be shot in the head.

 

[Deathbird]

Censorship is retarded, if something is extremely violent and over the top it'll come off as ridiculous anyway, and if its done to be scary or messed up than don't let kids buy it, simple parenting.
If a parent doesn't notice their little 11yr old jonnny playing a violent murderous game, what kind of parents are they?

 

[ThrobbingEgo]

So you say it would be OK to make games about the Holocaust or 9/11?

Are you saying there shouldn't be movies about the Holocaust or 9/11? I definitely think there should be games about serious topics - and that includes real world genocide and terrorism. So long as it isn't a low quality cash in, or insensitive sensationalist crap, that is. If these issues can be tackled with just a shred of maturity, then there is potential for a great game.

 

[House25]

censuring is only a tactic used by religious nuts and bad parents.
I think all censuring is bad, but i also find that sex scenes are usually really bad in the games that do have them and look like really bad porn movies and doesn't bring out the love that they usually want to say is there. A really good game can play out something sexual reallying on the imagination of the gamer along with well defined characters and not have to show anything to give it a high age rating.
As for violence,blood and gore... i like spawn, realistic and fun can be different things look at kill bill where the fight scenes realistic? NO, was it entertaining? YES.
I think the best thing for our current society would be to joust allow anything with hard core sex, excessive blood, racism and political humor to joust get a 18+recommended label and then be released everywhere, the problem is that a lot of countries ban games or force the developer to cut out stuff like Hot Coffee for GTA:SA.

Summary: Screw the social taboos let games do what they want.

So you say it would be OK to make games about the Holocaust or 9/11?

There is point in censorship where people begin to use common sense.
Most people don't realize it, but whats going on when you're storming normandy beach, with endlessly respawning Nazis? Somewhere else there is genocide.

And when you're capping terrorist, you usually won't shed a tear for the pride of your country. Honestly i'm surprised there isn't a holocaust game;
Some game caracters "piss pure malevolence" (to quote Mr. Croshaw)
so i guess decapitating puppies isn't that far off.
You know why you dont cry for your country in mid-missoin of CoD4? Because when you play a game, you focus on the task at hand, you pay attention to that arrow on the top of the screen and don't think "well killing this guy will save alot of lives".

You know why you don't?

Because it's a game!
The holocaust and 9/11 hit the world hard. Thats why a majority of the time, games try and have a decent outcome.
But games like manhunt don't have any real world connection, so the censorship ties are severed.

and sex? come on, its a part of life! Literally! Procreation, and deviant sex will surround everyone.
its like a gas, you can lock the kid in a room, but it'll find a way to the kid.

so screw censorship, if one person complains, fuck'm
if the masses complain, fuck'm
if everyone complains, and i mean everyone, then change it. (them for Silver)

 

[Silver]

House, your last point is flawed. It should be "if everyone complains, and I mean everyone, then change them."

 

[Silver]

I had great fun with Postal 2. Not that I actually used it for what it was really for though. Playing as a pacifist is harder than it should be in that game...

 

[hypothetical fact]

These videogame censorship debates are ironic in that there is nothing to debate over, everyone on any videogame website agrees that censorship is bad. Now if only there was some kind of cross forum debate we could have with a conservative family forum.

 

[Cahlee]

In the way of games, Australia sucks! Not only to we get new releases about a million years after America, we dont have an R18 rating so anything above MA gets banned! I think if we're allowed to watch porn, if we're allowed to drink and smoke, then we should be allowed R18 games. Ask for ID if it's THAT much of an issue.

 

[Jamash]

Why is it necessary? Do you feel violent afetr you play them? Do you wan't it censored so when you see death animations. You don't feel like hurting yourself or others as much? And if you take video games seriously. You need to be shot in the head.

You're not really doing the anti-censorship lobby any favours with your argument.

You're actually advocating murdering people who take video games seriously, or are you saying I need to killed because I disagree with you?

So the football fan who buys Football Manager 09 and spends a lot of time faithfully recreating the teams and season - shoot him in the head?

All the serious/professional gamers who take part in competitions for money, blow their brains out?

How about we just plant bombs at the next WoW convention to save bullets?

Games are a very interactive, entertaining and immersing form of media, and like it or not, some people will take them seriously. That doesn't mean they should be executed.

It seems to me that somebody has played too many violent games anyway, despite censorship.
I find it ironic that a self proclaimed "Fan of Death", is implying that I'm pro-censorship because I cant control violent urges when I play games, and then advocates murder in the next breath, (and possibly suggests I should be killed for my point of view, I'm not sure your grammar is ambiguous).

(For the record, I've never had a problem with self-control and violent urges, even when physically attacked myself.)

I think games are plenty violent as they are, and I can't really think of any games where I've wished they were more violent and wanted more gore.
Games are about entertainment, gameplay and fun, not snuff movies.

Censorship isn't just about ruining your kicks by limiting digitised violence, there's a much bigger picture.
Censorship also prevents undesirable things like racism & homophobia entering our beloved form of entertainment.

Also without censorship, what would stop people inserting subliminal messaging in games? Someone could make a innocent looking casual game which conditioned it's players to hate gays, Jews and blacks, then you really would see examples of games causing violent crimes.

It may seem extreme, but I think censorship is a necessary evil, as long as we live in societies where the are real sick fucks who would abuse freedom of speech & expression, to further their own agendas and cause actual real harm to others.

Also for the record I'm not actually very much in favour of censorship in games, I can totally accept how the whole Australia thing is unfair and over the top, it's just that I can also see how and why censorship is necessary and I don't think it's the great, oppressing killjoy that some people seem to think it is.

 

[loremazd]

No hate group would have the money to produce a game that people would find worth their money to try and subliminally control teenagers. No programmer would write the code for that game because it would be career suicide. You're grasping at straws. America in general doesn't ban violent games unless it gets really deep into the snuff film side of things. They dont even ban adult only games, just Walm mart and other retailers wont carry them.

Austrailia is psychotic because it's basically saying that video games for people over 18 cannot be sold, regardless of the absense of pornography. Especially when they dont ban Rated R movies.

 

[Dubiousduke]

Games are a very interactive, entertaining and immersing form of media, and like it or not, some people will take them seriously. That doesn't mean they should be executed.

It seems to me that somebody has played too many violent games anyway, despite censorship.
I find it ironic that a self proclaimed "Fan of ", is implying that I'm pro-censorship because I cant control violent urges when I play games, and then advocates in the next breath, (and possibly suggests I should be killed for my point of view, I'm not sure your grammar is ambiguous).

(For the record, I've never had a problem with self-control and violent urges, even when physically attacked myself.)

I think games are plenty violent as they are, and I can't really think of any games where I've wished they were more violent and wanted more gore.
Games are about entertainment, gameplay and fun, not movies.

Censorship isn't just about ruining your kicks by limiting digitised , there's a much bigger picture.
Censorship also prevents undesirable things like & homophobia entering our beloved form of entertainment.

Also without censorship, what would stop people inserting subliminal messaging in games? Someone could make a looking casual game which conditioned it's players to gays, Jews and blacks, then you really would see examples of games causing violent crimes.

It may seem extreme, but I think censorship is a necessary evil, as long as we live in societies where the are real sick s who would abuse freedom of speech & expression, to further their own agendas and cause actual real harm to others.

You sir, win.
Were it not for censorship we would have much more propagandist stuff floating around out there than we do now, and someone is going to take it seriously.

 

[Jamash]

Thank you, Dubiousduke.

Although I can't help but notice that my post you've quoted seems to be... CENSORED!

Oh the deliciously hilarious irony!

Some words like snuff, death, racism, violence appear to have been omitted.

Oh Censorship, how can you turn on me like this, after I stuck up for you?

"Et Tu Censorship..."

 

[Dubiousduke]

Umm, I didn't say that, but my examples of censored material would lean more towards racial or gender inequality, and other moral issues. Kind of like ethical gray areas.
(forgive me for this, guys)
For example, Abortion Doctor: Rip those babies out! for Nintendo DS...
(I feel horrible for that)